Lingual bar



' 1,615 191 Jan, 18, 1927. J; F. HOOVER LINGUAL BAR 7 Filed Oct. '15 1923 Patented Jan. 18, 1927.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAY F. HOOVER, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

LINGUAL BAR.

Application filed October 15, 1923.

This invention relates to improvements in lingual bars, and more particularly to the anchoring portions of the bars for holding the bars in the saddles of artificial dentures.

The objects of this invention are to provide means of improved construction'for securely anchoring bars of this kind in the saddles of artificial dentures and at the same time form the anchoring portions of the bars in such a manner as to avoid the breaking of the bars at the anchoring portions thereof, which is a source of trouble with bars as heretofore made; also to provide the anchoring portions of the bars with curved faces which are adapted to adapt themselves to or follow the contour of those portions of the saddles of artificial dentures which rest on the lingual surfaces of the alveolar ridge; also to roughen the lingual sides of the anchoring portion of the bars to enable the bars to more securely grip the saddles; also to provide the anchoring portions of the bars with laterally extending fins of substantially the same thickness throughout their lengths to afford a secure anchoring of the bars in the saddles; also to provide the edges of the anchoring portions of the bars with serrations or teeth which form shoulders facing lengthwise of the reinforcing portions of the bars, to resist the pulling out of the bars from the saddles; also to improve the construction of lingual bars in other respects hereinafter specified.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a lingual bar embodying this invention.

. Fig. 2 is a top plan View of an artificial denture provided with a lingual bar embodying the invention.-

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the lingual side of a saddle, showing the anchoring portion of the lingual bar embedded therein.

Fig. 4c is a transverse section thereof on line 44l, Fig. 2.

Fig; 5 is a bottom plan view of a saddle portion of a denture.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section thereof on an enlarged section on line 6-6, Fig. 2.

Figs. 7 and 8 are enlarged'transverse sectional views thereof on lines 7-7 and 88 respectively of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary edge view of the bar.

In Fig. 2 is shown an artificial denture in-' Serial No. 868,662.

suitable material, such as vulcanized rubber, or the like. The two saddles are connected by a lingual bar 15, the two ends of which are embedded in the saddles. a represents the usual clasps for securing the artificial denture to adjacent teeth. The lingual bars embodying this invention may,

of course be used in connection with saddles of many different shapes, depending upon the shape'of the patients mouth and upon the number of teeth to be carried by the saddles.

The lingual bar B is provided with the usual central curved or arched part or body portion 1) which terminates in anchoring portions C which are adapted to be embedded in the saddles when the. bar forms a part of an artificial denture.

The anchoring portions of the lingual bars are usually flattened and consequently the weakest points of bars as heretofore commonly made are at the portions thereof where the bar is flattened and breaks frequently occur at these points.

In my improved bar this objection is overcome by providing each anchoring portion with a central longitudinal rib 10 which is greatest in crosssection at the part thereof adjoining the body or bowed portion of the bar and which gradually decreases in cross sectiontoward the end of the bar. This rib is preferably formed at the lingual or inner face of the anchoring portion, and, as shown in the drawings, is rounded or approximately semi-circular in cross section, thus providing the greatest resistance to breaking at the part where the anchoring portion of the bar joins the body portion thereof, at which part the inner face of the reinforcing rib merges into the inner face of the body portion of the bar.

At opposite sides of the reinforcing rib, the anchoring portion of the bar is provided vith web portions 11 and these web portions are provided with laterally extending fins '12 which extend from the central rib 10 to theouter edges of the anchoring portion. These fins serve the two-fold purpose of strengthening the web portions and of providing for a more secure bond between the saddle and the bar. These fins, as well as the portions of the .webs between fins, are preferably made of substantially uniform thickness throughout their length for reasons hereinafter set forth.

As shown in Fig. l, the saddle A, which straddles the alveolar ridge has a contour which closely follows that of the ridge and this contour includes a concave portion 13. I have found that the best results can be obtained if the anchoring portions ,of the lingual bars are so made as to follow the contour of the saddle at the portion thereof in which the lingual bar is embedded, and for this purpose, the outer face of each anchoring portion is concaved or dished in a transverse direction, as shown at 14. Consequently, when the anchoring portion of a bar is embedded in a saddle, there will be an approximately uniform thickness of the material of which the saddle is made between the inner face of the saddle and the outer face of the anchoring portion of the bar, thus forming a stronger connection between the bar and the saddle. In order to further increase the bond or holding power of the anchoring portion of the bar, the concave or dished face thereof is preferably roughened, for example by a series of grooves or slight depressions 15. These depressions greatly increase the bond between the saddle and the bar and it has also been found desirable to provide roughened surfaces which are so formed that the depressions or ridges on one face of the anchoring portion are of different depth or height from those of the other face of an anchoring portion, since'a more uniformly secure bond is obtained by this arrangement.

Means of improved construction are also provided at the outer edges of the anchoring portions of the bar, and for this purpose, in the construction shown, the edges of the anchoring portion are provided with serrations or teeth 16 which are formed somewhat similar to saw teeth in that the teeth have substantially transverse or undercut surfaces 17 which face toward the bowed or arched por tion of the bar. Since the bar could only be pulled out of a saddle in a direction toward the body portion of the bar, these surfaces will be arranged substantially at right angles to this direction and consequently, the teeth will offer the maximum resistance to the pulling of the anchoring portion of the bar out of a saddle. Furthermore, since, as has already been stated, the fins and web of the anchoring portions are of substan tially uniform thickness throughout, these surfaces of the teeth will be of considerable area, and preferably the teeth are formed, as shown, in such a manner that the surfaces 17 thereof are arranged at the fins of the anchoring portions so that the surfaces 17 have'the maximum area with which to resist the pulling of the anchoringportion out of a saddle.

The anchoring portions of the bars are preferably so made that the cross sectional area of each of these portions of the bars is approximately uniform throughout the length thereof, and consequently as the size of the reinforcing rib 10 decreases, the anchoring portion increases in width. This increase in width also helps to form a secure anchorage, since owing to this shape, each succeeding tooth from the junction of the anchoring portion with the body portion of the bar projects farther from the longitudinal center of the anchoring por tion, thereby greatly increasing the resistance of the bar to pulling out of the saddle.

The anchoring portions described have the advantage of being easily manufactured and affording the greater resistance to pulling out of a saddle than those of lingual bars heretofore made, as well as greater resistance to breakage. The concave faces of the anchoring portions facilitate the placing of the bar in an artificial denture and also provide for a better grip on the saddle.

I claim as my invention:

1. A lingual bar having a body portion and an anchoring portion formed at an end of said body portion, said anchoring portion being of substantially uniform cross-sectional area throughout its length and including an integral longitudinally extending rib of'varying cross-sectional area, said rib being of greatest cross-sectional area at the portion thereof adjacent to said body portion and of smallest cross-sectional area at the portions thereof at the end of said bar.

2. A lingual bar having a body portion and an anchoring portion formed at an end of said body portion, said anchoring portion being of substantially uniform cross-sectional area throughout its length and including an integral straight, central, longitudinally ex tending, tapering rib, said rib being of greatest cross sectional area at the portion thereof adjacent to said body portion and of least crosssectional area at the end of said bar.

A lingual bar having a body portion and an anchoring portion formed at an end of said body portion, said anchoring portion being of substantially uniform cross-sectional area throughout its length and including an integral longitudinally extending rib of varying cross-sectional area, and a web portion extending laterally from said rib, said rib being of greatest crosssectional area and said web of least cross-sectional area at the portion of said anchoring portion adjacent to said body portion and said rib being of least cross-sectional area and said web of greatest cross-sectional area at the end of said bar.

4. A lingual bar having a body portion and an anchoring portion formed at an end of said body portion, said anchoring portion being of substantially uniform cross-sectional area throughout its length and including an integral longitudinally extending tapering rib having its portion of greatest cross-sectional area at the juncture of said rib to said body portion, and a web portion of less crosssectional area at the portions thereof adjacent to said body portion and of greatest cross-sectional area at the end of said bar.

5. A lingual bar having a body portion and an anchoring portion formed at an end of said body portion, said anchoring portion being of substantially uniform cross-sectional area throughout its length and including an integral longitudinally extending tapering rib having its portion of greatest cross-sectional area at the juncture of said rib to said body portion, and a web portion including fins extending laterally of said rib, said web portion being of less cross-sectional area at the portions thereof adjacent to said body portion and of greatest cross-sectional area at the end of said bar, each of said fins being of substantially the same thickness throughout its length.

6. A lingual bar having a body portion and an anchoring portion formed at an end of said body portion, said anchoring portion having a concavity extending lengthwise thereof on the outer surfa e of said anchoring portion, the surface of said concavity being roughened.

7. A lingual bar having a body portion and an anchoring portion formed at an end of said body portion, said anchoring portion having a concavity'extending lengthwise thereof on the outer surface of said anchoring portion, the surface of said concavity being roughened, and projections on the opposite face of said anchoring portion which serve to prevent relative movement between said anchoring portion and the portion of an artificial denture with which said bar is adapted to cooperate.

8. A lingual bar having a body portion and an anchoring portion formed at an end of said body portion and provided with a central longitudinally extending rib and portions extending laterally from said rib and which are of substantially the same thickness near the outer edges thereof as near said rib, said anchoring portion being shaped to form integral teeth at the edges thereof which have faces of substantially the same thickness as said laterally extending portions.

9. A lingual bar having a body portion and an anchoring portion formed at an end of said body portion and provided with a central longitudinally extending rib and a web portion extending laterally of said rib and having laterally extending integral fins of greater thickness than said web, and teeth at the edges of said anchoring portion, said teeth having transversely extending faces directed toward said body portion and which are formed at the outer ends of said fins, whereby said teeth have, faces of greater thickness than the thickness of said web between said fins.

10. A lingual bar having an anchoring portion at end thereof which has a longitudinal rib on one face thereof and a concavity extending lengthwise of the other face thereof.

11. A lingual bar having an anchoring portion at an end thereof which has on one face thereof a central longitudinal rib and laterally extending fins, and on the other face thereof a concavity extending lengthwise thereof.

12. A lingual bar having an anchoring portion at an end thereof which has on one face thereof a central longitudinal rib and laterally extending fins, and on the other face thereof a concavity extending lengthwise thereof, and teeth on the opposite edges of said anchoring portion.

JAY F. HOOVER. 

